Beijing airport to halt flights during Olympic opening ceremony

BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- No planes will be allowed to take off or land at Beijing Capital International Airport from 7 p.m. to midnight on Aug. 8, the night of the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The security measure reflected the experience of other countries that had hosted the Olympics and was ratified by the Chinese government, a spokesman for the China Civil Aviation Administration said here on Tuesday.

Domestic and foreign airlines had been notified of the move, he said, and flights would be rescheduled to minimize inconvenience for passengers.